Brandel Chamblee Takes Brutal Dig at LIV Golf as Stats Uncover Phil Mickelson & Co.’s Majors Record

“Puppets” is what Brandel Chamblee considers LIV Golf players. Puppets to the Public Investment Fund led by Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Greg Norman swayed a lot of money to loop in some big names from the PGA Tour. Chamblee has always been one of the harshest critics of the Saudi-based promotion. He has always blamed it for ruining golf while also throwing dirt at the players who switched for money.

And it’s not just the greed he has criticized. The famed golf analyst has also talked about how the money coming from PIF is tainted with crimes against human rights. There was a time when he even called it money that “comes from the sewer and the product stinks worse than the source,” taking a hit at LIV Golf and the investments at the same time. So it doesn’t come as a surprise when he has an opinion every time LIV Golf fails. That’s exactly what happened when some shocking details about the failure of LIV Golf players came to light recently.

Ron Klos, a PGA Tour Data Analyst tweeted, “Out of the 18 golfers that have signed with LIV and played in at least three majors since joining, 14 have performed worse on average in major events compared to their 3-year strokes gained average per round in majors before joining.” He also attached an image that showed statistics of how LIV Golf players have gotten worse in majors over the years. Out of the 18 Klos listed, only Bryson DeChambeau, Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton, and Dean Burmester had shown positive results in the last few years.

Chamblee didn’t hold back on the criticism while resharing Klos’ post. He added, “Because LIV isn’t concerned with their player’s careers. They are only concerned with how the players can help MBS/PIF obscure their human rights abuses and diversify their economy… the players (puppets) sold their businesses at a discount and LIV simply bought a moment in time.” The golf expert believes that neither Scott O’Neil, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, nor anyone else in LIV Golf cares about the success of its players outside of the league. While DeChambeau and Niemann winning majors will be good for them, they are not prioritizing improving their overall quality to prepare their players for bigger challenges.

Because LIV isn’t concerned with their player’s careers. They are only concerned with how the players can help MBS/PIF obscure their human rights abuses and diversify their economy… the players (puppets) sold their businesses at a discount and LIV simply bought a moment in time. https://t.co/aHjaCr4fC4

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) May 12, 2025

Dirty money aside, has LIV Golf really affected the quality of performance of its players so much? Bryson DeChambeau may have proven Brandel Chamblee wrong last year at Pinehurst. But he and other LIV Golf pros failed to impress on the grandest stage at Augusta National.

How Phil Mickelson & Co. proved Brandel Chamblee’s claims to be true

Weeks before the Masters Tournament began, the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Joaquin Niemann were firm favorites to win the Green Jacket. Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia were also eager to win the Green Jacket again. However, destiny had other plans for everyone of them, except Patrick Reed, maybe.

Reed did manage to jump out of nowhere and finish solo third at Augusta National. However, Bryson DeChambeau, who was a firm favorite to win it all, blundered the last round miserably to fall far below contention. Jon Rahm’s mistakes on the Thursday round of the Masters made it impossible for him to ever recover enough to compete. Niemann was average throughout the four rounds as he ended at T29 on Sunday. As far as Mickelson and Garcia go, the less we speak about them, the better. Could they have been able to be more competitive if they were still on the PGA Tour? Well, the stats shared by Klos make us believe so. Perhaps one of them could have even stopped Rory McIlroy from becoming the sixth Grand Slam champion.

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